E ponsness



July 16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL 3,097,560

PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR snow SHELL Filed July 28, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet l I VENTORS. 505527 BAZKEE.

40m E. Paws/V655 ArraZA/EYS.

July 16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR SHOT SHELL I Filed July 28, 1961 6- Sheets-Sheet 2 IEEEIEEEEE INVENTORS. 205 7 IV. 4 052 BY 2 0 E. POMS/V555 July 16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL 3,

PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR SHOT SHELL 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 28, 1961 are mm mkw m mm a M #5 a r r r 5 A n @Z m PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR SHOT SHELL Filed July 28, 1961 July 16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL mi w mu E g M #5 m U0 A w July '16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL 3,097,560

PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR SHOT sum.

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 28, 1961 ll mun -m INVENTORS- EaaEzr/V. BAEKEZ LmYa E. Pan's/vs as ATTOZ/VE Y5.

July 16, 1963 E. PONSNESS ETAL 3,

PROGRESSIVE RELOADING MACHINE FOR SHOT SHELL Filed July 28, 1961 6 sheets-sheet 6 INVENTORS. 5527' /V. BARKER [Lora t. Pous/vass.

TTOB/VEYS.

3,097,560 Patented July 16, 1963 PROGRESSIVE RELUADING MAC FOR SHOT SHELL Filed July 28, 1961, Ser. No. 127,524 7 Claims. (CI. 86-27) The herein described invention relates to reloading machine, and more particularly to apparatus used in the reloading of shot shells which have been previously expended.

The primary object of the invention is a shot shell reloading machine which performs all of the necessary reloading operations in a series of steps without the necessity of utilizing other or separate tools.

Another object of the invention is a shot shell reloading machine wherein a plurality of shot shells may be progressively reloaded.

Another object of the invention is a shot shell reloading machine wherein a plurality of shot shells are sized, reprimed, charged and closed and ejected from the machime in a rapid and efiicient manner.

Another object of the invention is a shot shell reloading machine provided with removable powder and shot containers whereby different type powder-s, :as well as different size shot, may be used in the reloading of shells.

Further objects and advantages of the herein described invention will become readily apparent by referring to the following detailed description, when taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view illustrating the machine constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan View or" the machine illustrated in FIGURE 1 with parts removed and portions cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal sectional view line 6-6 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse vertical sectional side elevational view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 10 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line ill-l1 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 13 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 13-13 of FIGURE 1, showing the wad inserting ram;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the wad inesrting ram, as illustrated in FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 15-15 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged side elevational View partly in section, showing the supporting plate and the shell holding table and the indexing mechanism used in the reloading operation, whereby a plurality of shells are sequentially refilled with a primer, powder and shot;

taken on the FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 17-17 of FIGURE '18;

FIGURE 18 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 18-18 of FIGURE 19 and illustrating in more detail portions of the indexing mechanism shown in FIGURE 16;

FIGURE 19 is .a horizontal sectional w'ew taken on the line i -19 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 20 is an enlarged partial transverse sectional view taken on the line 20-20 of FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 is an enlarged partial diagonal sectional view taken on the line 21-21 of FIGURE 19; and,

FIGURE 22 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 22-22 of FIGURE 7.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the machine ll) of the present invention is supported on a base 12.

The base 12 has extending upwardly :from the top surface thereof a pair of spaced bearing blocks 14. An operating shaft 16 is rotatably supported in the bearing blocks '14 and is rotated by movement of an actuating handle 18. The handle 18 is fixed in a collar 20 secured to the shaft 16 at one :end. An identical collar 22 is fixed to shaft 16 at its other end whereby longitudinal displacement thereof is prevented.

Mounted in the upper surfiace of hearing blocks 14 are a pair of elongated vertically extending guide rods 24 and 26 which pass through openings in a support plate 28. The plate 28 serves as a support for a shot shell holding and sizing table 30 rotatably mounted thereon. The plate 23 has pivot-ally fixed to its opposite ends a pair of links 32 which are pivotally secured to arms 34 fixed to collars 20 and 22 on the ends of shaft '16. It will be apparent that actuation of handle 18 and rotation of shaft 16 through links 32 and 34 will cause vertical movement of the support plate 28 on the guide rods -24 and '26.

The shell holding and sizing table 30 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced bores 36 extending thcreth'no-ugh. A plurality of sleeves 38 corresponding in number to bores 36 are secured to the upper surface of the table 3t] and in alignment with the bores 36. The bores 36 and sleeves 38 have a diameter such that when shells to be reloaded are inserted therein they will be properly sized for reuse. The support plate 28 has a hole extending therethrough with which the bores 36 can be aligned to allow insertion of shells into the table 30 from below the plate 28. The shells are held for insertion into the table 30 by a holder 40 mounted on a support block 42 secured to the base '12. The detail of the shell holder 40 is shown in FIGURE 21 and will be later described. Also mounted on block 42 is a primer inserting tool 43 which inserts a new primer in the base of a shell subsequent to the removal of a spent primer theretrorn. The detail of the primer inserting tool is also shown in FIGURE 21 and will be later described.

A wad positioning tool 44 is mounted for limited rotation on guide rod 24 and is supported on the upper surface of the support plate '28. The wad positioning tool 44 is provided with a pin 46 residing in a cam groove 48 in guide rod 24 whereby upon upward movement of the support plate 28 the tool 44 will automatically position a wad over the open end of a shell held in table 30 and one of the sleeves 38 for insertion therein. The details of the wad positioning tool are shown in FIGURE 15.

Mounted on the upper ends of guide rods 24 and 26 is a plate 50 upon which is removably mounted powder and shot containers 52 and 54 (one of which is shown) and dispensing means therefor which will be later described. Fixed to the underside of plate 50 is a plu r-ality of reloading tools eircumferentially disposed so as to be in alignment with the open ends of shot shells held in bores 36 and sleeves 38. The tools in order of their operation are, a primer removing punch 56, a powder drop tube 58, a wad inserting ram 60, a shot drop tube 62, a precrimp tool 64, a finish crimp tool .66- and afinished shell ejecting plunger 68. Also fixed to the underside of the plate 50 is movable lever 70 having a cam follower 72 mounted at one end which coacts with a cam 74 secured to the upper surface of support plate 28 to operate the powder and shot dispensing means.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the relative disposition of the powder and shot containers 52 and 54 with respect to the plate 50, and shows a cap or cover 76 which removably closes their open upper ends.

FIGURE 3 is "similar to 1 FIGURE placement of the powder and shot containers 52 and 54 .on the dispensing means '78.

The details of the dispensing means are shown in FIG- URES 4, and 6 and comprise a casing 80 having openings 8 2 and 84 in the upper surface thereof in alignment with discharge openings in the lower ends of powder and shot containers 52 and 54, respectively. The casing 80 has wall portions defining circular areas 86 and 88 in which disc valves 90 and 92 reside. The disc valves 90 and 92 are each provided with openings 94 and 96 which, when the valves 90 and 92 are in a non-dispensing position, are in alignment with the openings 82 and 84 in the casing 80. The openings 94 and 96 can be of any suitable diameter so as to contain the desired charge of powder and shot be dispensed into the shells. Itv will be apparent that the diameter of the openings 94 and 96 can be made larger or smaller by the insertion oi. suitable sleeves such as 91 and 93, to provide various loads for hunting, skeet, tr-ap, etc.

The circumferential edges of the disc valves 90 and 92 have gear teeth cut therein which are in mesh with gear teeth on rack 98. The rack 98 is positioned adjacent the edge of casing 80 and is biased to maintain the disc valves 90 and '92 in a non-dispensing position by a spring 100. A pin 102 extends outwardly from the rack from the surface opposite the gear teeth and is in operable engagement with a yoke 104 fixed on rotary shaft 106 of the plate 50.

The lever '70 is fixed to the opposite end of the shaft 106, and upon engagement of the cam follower 72 with the cam 74 when the support plate 28 is vertically moved, causes rotation of. shaft 106, movement of yoke 104 and reciprocation of rack 98. The reciprocation of rack 98 causes valves 90 and 92 to be rotated due to the engagement of their respective gear teeth. The valves 90 and 92 are rotated a suflicient distance to bring the powder and shot containing openings 94 and 96 into alignment with the powder and shot drop tubes 58 and 62 whereby the charges are dropped into the shells being reloaded,

as shown in FIGURE 5.

When the support plate is lowered, the cam 74 and cam follower 72 move out of contact with each other and spring 100 moves the rack 98 to cause return of valves 90 and 92 to a non-dispensing position. The openings 94 and 96 in the valves 90 and 92 again become aligned with the openings 82 and 84 in the casing and receive a charge of powder and shot from the containers 52 and 54.

' During the initial loading of empty shells into the holding and sizingtable 30, it is necessary to prevent dispensing of powder and shot through tubes 58 and 62 since no shells will be in position to receive the charges. To prevent-powder and shot from being dispensed by valves 90 and 92, a pair of rotatable baffie plates 110 and 112 are positioned below the same. The baffle plates 110 and 112 each have openings 114 and 116 therethrough. which, upon rotation of the plates 110 and 112,

are moved into and out of alignment with the powder fandshot drop tubes 58 and 62. The bafile plates 110 and 112 are rotated by means of handles 118 and 120 which 2 but shows the.-.

mounted in a bearing block 108 secured to the underside reside in cut out portions 122 and 124 of bottom plate 126 fixed to casing 80. The baffie plates and 112 are shown in alignment with the powder and shot drop tubes 58 and 62 in FIGURES 4 and 5 and shown in FIG- URE 6 in position to prevent dispensing of powder by valves 90 and 92.

In order to prevent packing and bridging of powder and shot in the containers 5 2 nd 54, each is provided with cup-shaped baffles 128 and 130 having openings through the walls thereof to allow a somewhat restricted how of material therethrough. As shown in FIGURE 7, the bafiles reside in the lower ends of the containers 52 and 54. Also shown in FIGURE 7 is the manner in which the holding "and sizing table 30 is rotatably mounted on the support plate 28. thereof an opening 132 in which a bearing 134 is held. The opening 132 is in alignment with an opening 136 in the support plate 28 and receives an axle 138 which extends through the openings 132 and 136 and is secured to the plate 28. The axles 138 has an enlarged upper end portion 140 in overlying spaced relation to the top of the holding and sizing table 30 in the area adjacent the opening 132.

Bores 142, eight in number, are circumferentially disposed in equally spaced relation adjacent to the opening 132 in the table 30, and are in alignment with a pair of diametrically opposed bores 144 in the enlarged end portion '140 of the axle 138. The bores 144 have therein springs 146 and balls 148 which balls partially extend into the bores 142 to releasably hold the table 30 from rotational movement with respect to the support plate 28. The table is incrementally rotated by an indexing mechanism later described.

Secured to the underside of the holding and sizing table 30 is an annular ring 150 having an annular channel 152 therein. A plurality of circumferentially spaced pins 154 extend through the annular channel 152 and are operatively engaged by the above-mentioned indexing mechanism. The operation of the rotation of holding and sizing table 30 and the function of the pins 154 in the annular channel 152 will be described when the description of the indexing mechanism is given.

The position of the shell holder 40 and the primer inserting tool 43 is illustrated when the tools are performing their respective functions in response to movement of the support plate 28, i.e., holding a shell inserted into the holding and sizing table 30 and inserting a primer into a shell held in the table.

In FIGURE 8 there is shown in cross section the alignment of the opening 114 through baffle plate 110 with the powder drop tube 58 and the charge receiving position of the opening 94 in disc valve 90. The disc valve 90 is shown in the non-dispensing position.

Shown in FIGURE 9 is the position of the cam 74 on the support plate 28 and arrows indicating the upward movement of the same whereby cam follower 72 engages the cam, which engagement causes rotation of the shaft 106, swinging of yoke 1.04 and reciprocation of the rack 98 to the position shown in dotted lines. As previously disclosed, reciprocation of the rack 98 causes valves 90 and 92 to move from a non-dispensing position to a dispensing position.

FIGURE 10 illustrates the position of the wad positioning tool 44 on the guide rod 24 and on the support plate 28 and the screw 156 and bracket 158 which maintain the lower position of the tool in engagement with the surface of the support plate.

Shown in FIGURE 11 is the manner by which the plate 50 is secured to the guide rods 24 and 26, one being shown. The plate 50 receives the upper end of the rod 24 in a bore 160 in the bottom thereof. The ends of the guide rods 24 and 26 each have a threaded bore therein to receive a threaded fastener 162 passing through a washer 164 in a bore 166 in the upper surface of the plate 50.

The shell holding and sizing table 30, as shown in FIG- The tablesdhasthrou'gh the center URE 12, is bored to hold and size eight shells. Each of the bores 36 and sleeves 38 hold and size a shell and retain the same during the entire reloading operation. The table 30 moves the shells step-by-step from the station indicated as 8-1 where a shell is inserted into the table and sized to 8-2 where the spent primer is removed and a new primer inserted. S-3 indicates the powder receiving station, 8-4 the wad inserting station, S-5 the shot receiving station, 8-6 the partial crimp station, S7 the finish crimp station and S-8 the finished shell eject station. The wad positioning tool 44 is shown in dotted lines in the position assumed when a wad is being inserted into a shell.

The wad inserting ram 60 is constructed to apply various pressures to a wad being inserted into a shell. The details of the wad inserting ram 60 are shown in 'FIGURE 13 and as disclosed, the ram 60 is reciprocatively mounted in a sleeve 168 fixed to the plate 50. The ram 60 is biased in the position shown by a compression spring 170 disposed around an extension 172 of the ram 60 and in engagement with a shoulder 174 thereon and the top of a cap 176 threadably engaging the sleeve 168. The cap 176 is rotated to increase or decrease the compression of the spring 170 whereby the pressure exerted by the ram 60 can be varied.

The extension 172 of the wad inserting ram 60 is provided with indicia, as shown in FIGURE 14, to indicate the pressure which will be applied to the wad being inserted into a shell. The indicia disclose a pressure range of from 25 to 100 pounds, however, other suitable pressures can be used by substituting springs having greater or lesser compression characteristics than the spring 170.

The wad positioning tool 44, shown in detail in FIG- URE 15, is comprised of a cylindrical body portion 178 through which guide rod 24 passes. The wads are placed in a cylindrical holder 180 threadably secured in a guide sleeve 182 which is spring biased in cylindrical casing 184 secured in arm 186 extending from the body portion 178. The wad positioning tool 44 is rotated upon upward movement of support plate 28 due to the coaction of the pin 46 traveling in cam groove 48 whereby a wad will be positioned in overlying relation to a shell, and in alignment with the wad inserting ram 60.

The shell holding and sizing table 30, as previously stated, is moved in increments during upward movement of support plate 28 by an indexing mechanism, the details of which are illustrated in 'FIGURE 16. Secured to the underside of the support plate 28 is a support 188 having a wheel 190 rotatably mounted therein. The wheel 190' is provided with a plurality of radially extending lugs 192 which operatively engage pins 154 in the channel 152 of annular ring 150 secured to the underside of the holding and sizing table 30. The wheel 190 is rotated by a cam 194 fixed to the end of a shaft 195 reciprocatively mounted in a sleeve 196 secured to the base 12. The cam 194 is reciprocated by engaging the underside of support plate 28 upon downward movement thereof and partially rotated due to the operative engagement of a pin 198 fixed to shaft 195 and extending through a longitudinally extending diagonal slot 200 in sleeve 196. The cam 194 is so positioned with respect to the lugs 192 on wheel 190 that upon rotation of the cam 194 the lobe thereof passes between the adjacent lugs 192.

The cam 194 and shaft 195 are biased away from the base 12 by a spring 202, as shown in FIGURE 18, and when the support plate 28 moves upwardly, the cam 194 would normally move with it until the pin 198 reaches the end of the slot 200. The rotation thereof could possibly cause the lobe of the cam 194 to miss engagement with one of the lugs 192 on wheel 190 and cause the shells to be improperly reloaded. To prevent simultaneous movement of the cam 194 and support plate 28, a retaining pin 204, held in sleeve 206, extends below the underside of support plate 28. The retaining pin 204 is biased to a fully extended position, as shown in 'FIGURE 16. When the support plate 28 moves down towards the base 12, the pin 204 contacts the upper surface of the cam 194 and is pushed into the sleeve 206. The cam 194, when engaged and moved down by the support plate 28, rotates, and as the cam 194 reaches the limit of its rotation, a slot 208 in the edge thereof is aligned with the pin 204 and receives the same. The cam 194 is thus held from movement until the pin 204 is drawn from the slot 208 by the upward movement of the support plate 28. The pin 204 is of a length sufiicient to hold the cam 194 until the lugs 192 on wheel are in proper relation to be positively engaged by the lobe portion thereof when the cam 194 rotates and assumes the position shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 17. Also shown in FIGURE 17 in solid lines is the cooperation of the pin 284 and slot 208 in cam 194. Since the table 30 holds and sizes eight shells, and there are eight pins 154 in the annular ring 150 engaged by eight lugs 192 on wheel 190, it will be apparent that each increment of rotation of the table 30 will be one-eighth of a complete rotation.

In FIGURE 19 there is shown the relative position of the bearing blocks 14 on the base 12, the shaft 16 rotatably supported therein, the position of the block 42 upon which the shell holder 40 and the primer inserting tool are mounted and the position of the sleeve 196 in which shaft for cam 194 resides.

The manner of fixing one of the arms 34 to the collars 20 and 22 is shown in FIGURE 20. As illustrated, a bolt 210 extends through bores in the collar 22 and shaft 16 and engages a threaded bore in arm 34.

FIGURE 21 illustrates the details of the shell holder 40 and the primer inserting tool 43. As shown, the shell holder 40 comprises a vertically extending pin 212 fixed to the block 42. The pin has an enlarged upper end portion 214 upon which the base of a shell rests. A sleeve 216 is reciprocatively mounted on the pin 212 and extends upwardly beyond the end portion 214 to retain a shell thereon prior to its insertion into the holding and sizing table 30. The primer inserting tool 43 is similar in structure to the shell holder 48 having a vertically extending pin 218 secured in a sleeve 220 fixed to the block 42. The pin 218 has an enlarged upper end 222 upon which a primer rests. The primer is held in the tool prior to its insertion into a shell by a sleeve 224 reciprocatively mounted on pin 218 and extending beyond the upper end 222.

FIGURE 22 illustrates the annular ring 150 secured to the underside of the shell holding and sizing table 30, and the circumferentially spaced pins 154 in the channel 152.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when it is desired to reload spent shot shells a shell is placed in the holder 40 and handle 18 actuated to cause rotation of shaft 16 which, through arms 34 and link 32, causes the support plate 28 to be moved downwardly toward the base 12. The shell on holder 40 is inserted into one of the bores 36 and sleeves 38 in and on the holding and sizing table 30 and is properly sized and the table 30 moved one-eighth turn. The support plate is moved upwardly and another shell is placed in holder 40 to be inserted in the same manner. It should be pointed out that the shells are fully inserted in the table 30 when the support plate 28 reaches the limit of its downward travel whereby incremental rotation occurs after an operation has been performed on the shells. The shells are moved from the station 8-1 (see FIG. 12) to the S2 position where upon upward movement of the support plate 28 the spent primer is removed by the primer removing punch 56. Downward movement of the support plate 28 allows a new primer to be inserted by primer inserting tool 43. The holding and sizing table then moves the shell to S3 in alignment with the powder drop tube 58 through which a charge of powder is dispensed into the shell. The shell is next carried to the 8-4 position. A wad is placed in the wad positioning tool 44 and as the support plate 28 moves upward the wad is automatically positioned, as

previously described, to be inserted into the shell by the supporting plate and wad inserting ram 60. The shell is moved to the 8-5 position in alignment with the shot drop tube 62 to receive a charge of shot. After receiving the shot, the shell is moved to position S-6 where the open upper end is partially closed by the partial crimp tool 64. The shell is then moved to the 8-7 position where the end is completely closed by the finish crimp tool 66. The finished shell, is moved to the S8 position where, upon upward movement of the support plate 28, it is ejected by the ejecting plunger 68.

While the reloading operation of one shell has been described, it will be understood that eight shells are con tained in the holding and sizing table to be operated on in the same manner.

The invention, while described in its preferred embodiment, will lend itself to modifications and variations that will be apparent to those skilled in the art. However, such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

We claim:

-1. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supoprting plate, a shell holding table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding table to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected positions with one of the bores in the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table in the lowermost position of the supporting plate, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the powder container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciproeating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a charge of powder into the shell in a selected posi tion of the shell holding table beyond the shell receiving position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a wad from the Wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a position beyond the powder receiving position, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the the shell holding table for ejecting the shell from the bore in the latter in a position beyond the wad receiving position.

2. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supporting plate, a shell holding table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the link-age for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding table to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected position with one of the bores in the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned holes in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table in the lowermost position of the supporting plate, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, an automatically operable valve adjacent the bottom of the powder container, a manually operable valve at the bottom of the powder container below the automatically operable valve, mechanism con nected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating the automatically operable valve to release a charge of powder with a shell in a selected position of the shell holding table beyond the shell re-. oeiving position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a position beyond the powder receiving position, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the supporting plate and the shell holding table for ejecting the shell from the bore in the latter in a position beyond the wad receiving station.

3. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating the plate, a shell holding table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding table to selected positions, detent means for releasably posi tioning the shell holding table in the selected position with one of the bores in the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves downwardly, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the powder container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a charge of powder into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the shell receiving position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a selected position in advance of the powder receiving position, a shot container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the shot container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a load of shot into the shell in a selected position of the she-ll holding table in advance of the wad receiving position, a crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate in a selected position in advance of the shot receiving position for folding the open end of the shell inwardly to hold the load of shot in place as the supporting plate moves upwardly, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the supporting plate and the shell holding table in a selected position in advance of the crimping position for ejecting the shell from the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves upwardly.

4. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supporting plate, a shell holding table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding plate to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected positions with one of the bores in the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves downwardly, an automatically operable valve adjacent the bottom of the powder container, a manually operable valve at the bottom of the powder container below the automatically operable valve, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating the automatically operable valve to release a charge of powder into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table beyond the shell receiving position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a Wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a position beyond the powder receiving position, a shot container positioned above the supporting plate an automatically operable valve adjacent the bottom of the shot container, a manually operable valve at the bottom of the shot container below the automatically operable valve, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating the latter automatically operable valve to release a load of shot into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the wad receiving position, a crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate for folding the open end of the shell inwardly to hold the load of shot in place in a selected position of the shell in advance of the shot receiving position, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the supporting plate and the shell holding table for ejecting the shell from the bore in the latter in a selected position in advance of the wad crimping position.

5. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supporting plate, a shell loading table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation, and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding table to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected positions with one of the bores of the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves downwardly, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the powder container, mechanism connected to the linkage tor reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a charge of power into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the shell receiving position, a Wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell and a Wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a Wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a selected position in advance of the powder receiving position, a shot container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the shot container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a load of shot into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the wad receiving position, an initial crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate in a selected position in advance 10 of the shot receiving position for partially folding the open end of the shell inwardly to hold the load of shot in place as the supporting plate moves upwardly, a finish crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate in a selected position in advance of the initial crimping position for completing the inward folding of the open end of the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the supporting plate and the shell holding table in a selected position in advance of the finish crimping position for ejecting the shell from the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves upwardly.

6. In a shell loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciproeating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supporting plate, a shell holding table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage tor reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell holding table to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected positions with one of the bores in the latter in alignment with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves downwardly, a primer inserting tool mounted on the base and arcuately spaced from the shell holder in the direction of rotation of the shell holding table and by an angle equal to the arcuate spacing of the shell receiving bores in the latter for inserting a primer in the shell as the supporting plate moves downwardly, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the powder container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a charge of powder into the shell in a selected position in advance of the primer inserting position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a Wad over the shell and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a Wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a selected position in advance of the powder receiving position, a shot container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the shot container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating the valve to release a load of shot into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the wad receiving position, a crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate in a selected position in advance of the shot receiving position for folding the open end of the shell inwardly to hold the load of shot in place as the supporting plate moves upwardly, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above the supporting plate and the shell holding table in a selected position in advance of the crimping position for ejecting the shell from the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves upwardly.

7. In a shell re-loading machine, a base, a supporting plate having a shell receiving hole therein mounted for reciprocating movement above the base, linkage for reciprocating said supporting plate, a shell loading table rotatably mounted on said supporting plate and having bores therein "for receiving the shells positioned on a circle around its axis of rotation and selectively alignable with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for intermittently rotating the shell hold- 1 ing table to selected positions, detent means for releasably positioning the shell holding table in the selected positions with one of the bores in the latter in alignment "11 with the shell receiving hole in the supporting plate, a shell holder mounted on the base for inserting a shell through the aligned hole in the supporting plate and the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves downwardly, a primer removing punch mounted above the supporting plate and the shell holding table and arcuately spaced from the shell holder in the direction of rotation of the shell holding table and by an angle equal to the arcuate spacing of the shell receiving bores in the latter for removing the spent primer from a shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly after advancing the shell holding table from the shell inserting position to the next adjacent selected position, a primer inserting tool mounted on the base in, vertical alignment with the primer removing punch for inserting a new primer in the shell as the supporting plate moves downwardly and the shell holding table is advanced from the primer removing position to a powder receiving position, a powder container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the powder container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating said valve to release a charge of powder into the shell in the powder receiving position, a wad positioning tool carried by the supporting plate and operable by the latter for placing a wad over the shell, and a wad inserting ram positioned above the supporting plate and shell holding table for inserting a wad from the wad positioning tool into the shell as the supporting plate moves upwardly to advance the shell holding table to a selected position in advance of the powder receiving position, a shot container positioned above the supporting plate, a valve in the bottom of the shot container, mechanism connected to the linkage for reciprocating the supporting plate for operating the valve to release a load of shot into the shell in a selected position of the shell holding table in advance of the wad receiving position, a crimping tool mounted above the supporting plate in a selected position in advance of the shot receiving position for folding the open end of the shell inwardly to hold the load of shot in place as the supporting plate moves upwardly, and a shell ejecting plunger positioned above thesuppor'ting plate and the shell'holding table in a selected position in advance of the crimp ing position for ejecting the shell from the bore in the shell holding table as the supporting plate moves upwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 396,398 Genevay Ian. 22, 1889 845,486 Stevens et al Feb. 26, 1907 2,800,830 Gerstenberger et al July 30, 1957 3,001,436 Deitemeyer Sept. 26, 1961 

1. IN A SHELL LOADING MACHINE, A BASE, A SUPPORTING PLATE HAVING A SHELL RECEIVING HOLE THEREIN MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT ABOVE THE BASE, LINKAGE FOR RECIPROCATING SAID SUPPORTING PLATE, A SHELL HOLDING TABLE ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORTING PLATE AND HAVING BORES THEREIN FOR RECEIVING THE SHELLS POSITIONED ON A CIRCLE AROUND ITS AXIS OF ROTATION AND SELECTIVELY ALIGNABLE WITH THE SHELL RECEIVING HOLE IN THE SUPPORTING PLATE, MECHANISM CONNECTED TO THE LINKAGE FOR RECIPROCATING THE SUPPORTING PLATE FOR INTERMITTENTLY ROTATING THE SHELL HOLDING TABLE TO SELECTED POSITIONS, DETENT MEANS FOR RELEASABLY POSITIONING THE SHELL HOLDIING TABLE IN THE SELECTED POSITIONS WITH ONE OF THE BORES IN THE LATTER IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE SHELL RECEIVING HOLE IN THE SUPPORTING PLATE, A SHELL HOLDER MOUNTED ON THE BASE FOR INSERTING A SHELL THROUGH THE ALIGNED HOLE IN THE SUPPORTING PLATE AND THE BORE IN THE SHELL HOLDING TABLE IN THE LOWERMOST POSITION OF THE SUPPORTING PLATE, A POWDER CONTAINER POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUPPORTING PLATE, A VALVE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE POWDER CONTAINER, MECHANISM CONNECTED TO THE LINKAGE FOR RECIPROCATING THE SUPPORTING PLATE FOR OPERATING SAID VALVE TO RELEASE A CHARGE OF POWDER INTO THE SHELL IN A SELECTED POSITION OF THE SHELL HOLDING TABLE BEYOND THE SHELL RECEIVING POSITION, A WAD POSITIONING TOOL CARRIED BY THE SUPPORTING PLATE AND OPERABLE BY THE LATTER FOR PLACING A WAD OVER THE SHELL AND A WAD INSERTING RAM POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUPPORTING PLATE AND SHELL HOLDING TABLE FOR INSERTING A WAD FROM THE WAD POSITIONING TOOL INTO THE SHELL AS THE SUPPORTING PLATE MOVES UPWARDLY TO ADVANCE THE SHELL HOLDING TABLE TO A POSITION BEYOND THE POWDER RECEIVING POSITION, AND A SHELL EJECTING PLUNGER POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUPPORTING PLATE AND THE SHELL HOLDING TABLE FOR EJECTING THE SHELL FROM THE BORE IN THE LATTER IN A POSITION BEYOND THE WAD RECEIVING POSITION. 